To what extent do perceptions of aging vary across social strata? Previous research provides inconsistent findings, although it seems plausible that attitudes toward old age differ with age, social class, and ethnicity of respondents. However, issues of measurement (construct validity; reliability; dimensional equivalency) raise doubts on the…

Low income and middle income four- and five-year old children were shown stimuli in three forms: objects, colored pictures, and black and white line drawings taken from commonly used assessment instruments, and were asked to label the stimuli. Results indicated both groups of children labeled the objects more successfully than the pictures.…

Noting that the practitioner is confronted with conflicting definitions of "fairness" that claim to avoid "bias" in test usage, this article asserts that "mean fairness" can be achieved by use of multiple regression with the dichotomous variate, group membership, included as a predictor; mean fairness also holds for sub-groupings, based on test…

Examines confusions that result from the use of the words "standardization,""reliability,""objectivity," and "validity" in connection with testing. (IRT)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress, in its power base, conception, creation, and execution, runs against the view that respects the local, unique culture as the prime determinant in education and supports the idea that education is an entity that a national program can clarify for delivery to children. (Author/IRT) Aspect of National…

The consumer of educational tests is not being protected and reforms are badly needed. (JH)

Because conventional test instruments designed to predict academic performance of the young tend to be inaccurate measures of competence in the elderly, new assessment instruments are being constructed which are more appropriate for current cohorts of the elderly. A comparison of performance on conventional measures to performance on newly…

Truth in testing, competency testing, and intelligence tests constitute the central topics of this newsletter. The authors review a report prepared by the Education Commission of the States on truth-in-testing legislation and litigation, covering recent efforts at the state and federal levels to open the testing process to public scrutiny. They…

A review of state laws governing certification of professional educators reveals both wide agreement on many certification issues and a shift toward making requirements more stringent. Teacher certification has long been accepted as a means of ensuring minimum competency. Many of the issues surrounding certification have been settled, including…

A seminar was offered to improve the understanding of tests as they are used in academic and employment decisions, and to assist participants in improving their scores on standardized tests through increased understanding of test-taking strategies. The long- and short-range implications of training students in the techniques of test-taking are…

Determination of the fairness of preschool tests for use with children of varying cultural backgrounds is the major objective of this study. The predictive validity of a battery of preschool tests, chosen to represent the core areas of preschool assessment, across race and sex, was evaluated. Validity of the battery was examined over a 12-month…

Predictive validity of the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R), was investigated with 174 Chicanos and 94 Anglos, ages 10-11, who were referred for psychological services. Wide Range Achievement Test Reading, Spelling, and Arithmetic subtest scores were each regressed on WISC-R Verbal, Performance and Full Scale Intelligence…

Intended for parents, this guide discusses the effects of standardized tests on children, using test items from recent standardized reading tests which have been administered to children aged 7 to 13 and children's responses to these items. For each item, comments are made about the ambiguity of the item; the various interpretations that can be…

This paper discusses Congressional and judicial attempts to deal with the problem of employment practices which lead to discriminatory outcomes but which may not be discriminatory in intent. The use of paper and pencil tests as standards for hiring and promotion is focused on as an example of this type of employment practice. An historical account…